Bluest Eye DB#1

I must say, I was amazed at the just how common it is for someone to feel abandoned. Last semester, I read The Poisonwood Bible for my supplementary reading project in my TC, Emerging Selves. A major issue for one of the daughters in the story was the fact that she had health problems that led her to believe that she was less important than the other daughters. In one incident, she and her sisters were running for a disaster occurring at their village and she actually witnessed her mother choose one daughter over the other (herself). Adah was literally left behind in The Poisonwood Bible. “[Mother] studied me for a moment, weighing my life. Then nodded, shifted [Ruth May] in her arms, turned away. ‘Come on!’ she commanded over her shoulder…I knew when I went down…Once I looked for my mother and saw her, far ahead. I followed, bent on my own rhythm. Curved into the permanent song of my body: left…behind” (Kingsolver 306). She talks about how she is crippled and thinks that because of this, the whole child was chosen first. In a way, I have had feelings that parallel these. For many years, I was convinced that my mother cared more for my brother than she did for my si ster and me. She seemed to side with him more often than not and her constant reminders of how much she despises my father led to me to believe that I somehow reminded her of him. And because of this, I was convinced that I could never be as good as Michael, my half-brother. I am not about to say that I come from a dysfunctional family. I only point this out to stress how often the sense of abandonment seems to come up in our lives. Dysfunctional family or not, I think everyone feels left behind at some point. We all have these “deep feelings of abandonment” in our lives (Bump 353). Whether it is by our families or by friends or even God, we manage to convince ourselves that we are less loved for some reason. I think Pecola’s feelings of abandonment were not helped by Claudia’s mother, who, in a fit of rage, reminded the children of the fact that her father “ain’t been here yet to see if his own child was ‘live or dead” (Morrison 25). She is already soft-spoken, described as having “no voice in the story,” and the verbal treatment she receives is no help. If anything, it no doubt confirmed her beliefs in her dysfunctional family and her feelings of being unwanted and left behind.

Stemming from this, I believe that this abandonment in our lives, however big or small, is what leads to our illusions about self-image. Many characters that I’ve read about have had severe self-esteem issues due to feeling unwanted. Under the covers of her bed, Pecola implored God to make her disappear, but “she could never get her eyes to disappear” (45). This statement might symbolize the situation of her family. Try as she might, Pecola cannot manage to change the circumstances in which she lives, just as she can’t change something as trivial as her eye color. Psychologically, it is suggested that blue is a calming color. The lightness of blue eyes can also be correlated with innocence, which may be a reason blue eyes are what “every girl child treasured” (Morrison 20).

Pecola’s desire for blue eyes not only has this meaning underneath, but it also has the meaning right on the surface of her feelings of ugliness that “made her ignored or despised” (Morrison 45). Our world is obsessed with materialistic values. We strive to get skinny, tan, pretty, fit, and all other forms of the ideal physical appearance. From this, we no doubt have strong self-esteem issues that could bleed into our relationships with other people, including those who are as close as our own family members. Pecola is convinced that if she had blue eyes “maybe Cholly would be different, and Mrs. Breedlove too” (46). Unfortunately, she believes that her appearance has something to do with the dynamics of her family. As Professor Bump mentioned, one of the reasons “Pauline abandon[ed] her daughter” was that “she believed her daughter was unusually ugly” (Bump 353), which just goes to show that even a mother’s love isn’t strong enough to overcome the vain values that are instilled within us.

Going on from this, when children are treated with positive attitudes and compliments, they tend to succeed: Claudia was able to “keep her sanity…primarily because…she and her sister had more self-esteem” (Bump 354). As I said, I am amazed at the effect self-image has on our relationships. Self-esteem dictates how we live and our relationships with others, especially our family. Family dynamics are clearly affected by many different factors, but the effect of self-image on them is a clear indicator of just how fragile these relationships can be.

Black Elk Speaks DB#2

I really can’t lie, I really had a lot of trouble understanding Black Elk Speaks. His visions made little sense to me and I had trouble following what he was talking about constantly. However, I can understand a power struggle when I read about one. “It is from understanding that power comes” (Black Elk 29). It’s true. Even from where I’m sitting here reading, this statement holds true. I had no power in this reading initially. I blindly grasped at some form of understanding as I tried to make sense of his visions and anecdotes. I think I found something, though. And from this, I have the power to explain my thoughts and what I took from the reading. I have the power to analyze the meaning behind the words and find deeper connections as well. Black Elk explains how “a man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has performed the vision on earth for the people to see” (28).

So, he sets out to perform this vision and also to uphold the values and traditions of his family and tribe. But in doing so, he clashes with other groups. I think we have all read or seen this sort of clashing before. The clashing of nature versus industry, “savages” versus “whites,” civilization versus wilderness. Pocahontas was one such story in which the Native Americans and English settlers fought over merely differing lifestyles. There is so much that both groups could learn from each other, but because of the power struggle and the desire to win, death and war seem to be the only paths. He sees the slaughter of the bison as “throwing part of the power of [his] people away” (32). Much of the fighting in these stories comes from misunderstanding. It seems very silly to me. Black Elk did not convey to the Wasichus that they were destroying something sacred to his people and merely set out to meet them with force. Similarly, the Wasichus slaughtered the women and children of the natives without cause or provocation. Power, in these situations, just means the failure to understand each other and the constant desire to hold the upper card.

It was the same in Avatar as well. The natives saw the beauty in nature and all living things, whereas the newcomers acted much like the new ways of Black Elk’s tribe: “They were traveling the black road, everybody for himself and with little rules of his own, …” (31). The clashing came from the misunderstanding of both sides and the fact that both wanted the land to do with it what they believed to be right. The description of Black Elk’s vision seemed especially similar to the way the natives in Avatar lived: “the holy tree was dying, and the circle of the men and women holding hands was like the sacred hoop that should have power to make the tree to bloom again” (32). They use their unity and nature to cure others whereas the newcomers have no understanding of the planet and merely use the resources they know. So, the disrespect that both parties have for each others’ beliefs is probably also a contributing factor in the clashing of both sides.

However, the natives also seem to lose something precious in all these circumstances: Pocahontas, Black Elk Speaks, and Avatar. They have a beautiful connection with nature and live in harmony, but they lose this sense of innocence because of what is brought to them. In the end, Black Elk ends up taking “a gun with [him]” to meet his enemy. They use horses that were brought by newcomers and slowly lose their former harmony. I find that this power struggle is what destroys their way of life as well as harmony amongst differing groups.

Black Elk Speaks DB#1

For me, this text seemed to connect very much with my reaction to Earthlings. I must say, it did not phase me as much as it did others, but it still had a significant impact on my outlook on the treatment of animals and just how ignorant we are. After watching, I made the decision to give up eating meat other than chicken and fish (red meat, if you will). To many, I understand that this may seem silly and somewhat contradictory. People argue that if I'm giving up something, then I should give up everything. However, I knew that it would be a little unreasonable to assume that after the lifestyle I've grown up in, I would be able to do the entire thing. I try to make a difference because of this effect that Earthlings had on me. Black Elk's vision reminds me of how I responded. He describes how he and the horses "walked together side by side, while the blacks, the whites, the sorrels, and buckskins followed..." (Anthology 362). I felt a connection with the animals as I watched the video and this caused me to feel similar to how Black Elk felt after his vision: how he "remembered that [he] was to be like a relative with the birds" (368).

I understand that it may confuse people that I would give up some forms of meat and not others. They claim that if it is a matter of cruelty then it shouldn't matter what animal it is. However, the connections I made fall under certain categories for me. Just like many people wouldn't eat certain types of meat such as dog, dolphin, or monkey, I draw my lines to include other animals. My reaction to Earthlings is much like Black Elk's to his dream in which "I liked to think about it, but I was afraid to tell it" (360). I still am for that matter. I don't like to let on my view of the whole thing because people are constantly judging and criticizing the way I see things. It's all a matter of perspective, however. Which is how Black Elk sees things after his vision.

The connection Black Elk makes with the horses in his vision can also parallel with racism. The way they “walked together side by side” and how “suddenly the dancing horses without number changed into animals of every kind and into all the fowls that are” reminded me of my dream of world unity—a world where all people and animals fall under one category. The unity amongst the living things in the text could go along with many people’s goal for unity amongst all people of the Earth. However, Black Elk still conveyed a sense of hostility toward other creatures, much like the characters of Avatar. The tribal nature in which they live does not seem wholly conducive to unity amongst all creatures. Having pride for a certain group in which you belong can be harmful to the peace that so many strive for. The vision in which “the trees and grasses were not withered any more and murmured happily together” seems silly (366). The balance of nature should not depend upon one group’s triumph over another, but more upon how all creatures live in harmony.

Music to Unite the World

In Professor Michael Starbird’s lecture on extreme optimism on the future, he stressed his amazement at our ability to communicate worldwide. He discussed how the Internet has brought the world closer together to the point where he might argue war could come to an end. Not only does the Internet allow us to communicate important information worldwide, but it also allows us to make connections and keep them with people who live thousands of miles away. I admire his optimistic view on the future and even have my own perspective of the future to add. What if we could use music to bring people closer together as well? The world is already becoming smaller due to things like faster transportation and communication through satellites and online. While these things do in fact contribute to unity amongst all people of the world, we can take other measures toward this sort of progress.

Starbird’s optimistic view on the future gave me many new thoughts about what I look forward to and strive for in my future. Something that I’ve always particularly cared about is tolerance of cultural and racial differences. Along with this, I am interested in better international relationships and in general stronger unity worldwide. John Lennon had the dream; “imagine all the people living life in peace” with “no countries…to kill or die for.” I understand that these goals are unrealistic and quite a stretch for the level that our world is at, but everyone has a dream, don’t they? This would be mine. My ultimate goal for our society would be a world that is more unified and can see itself as the world instead of countries, continents, nations, and races.

I know there would be many ways to go about promoting better international relationships, but unfortunately foreign policy isn’t exactly my forte. I racked my brains for what I care most about and what I’m actually good at and one resounding area came to mind: music. It’s something that I truly enjoy and work the hardest in. It comes most naturally to me and constantly fascinates me with its many genres and backgrounds. It is something that I love to learn about, teach, and work at. And, as I was once told at a camp, music is a universal language spoken by all people. Everybody has some sort of connection with music whether it be rap, hip-hop, rock, or classical. Music has the ability to promote cultural learning and inspire better international relationships. A musician in the novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter voiced something that I agree with about music: “Music is like you touch the pulse of the world. Music is always happening, and sometimes you get to touch it for a while, and when you do you know that everything's connected to everything else.” Music is universal. You don’t have to be a certain age or race or have a certain degree of intelligence to appreciate music. You don’t have to speak a certain language or live in a certain country to listen to it.

So where do I begin? My first step falls here: college. This course to be exact. I find myself making plans in my head for how to follow through with this vision. The most important part I’ve been taught, though, is to follow what I love. I began my college path pursuing a medical career. Why? Because that’s what I was comfortable with and my family is full of doctors. It was a life that I was familiar with and could visualize. However, music is what I love and I came to realize that I needed to pursue it. I am not committing myself to the life of the musician, but I am planning on majoring in it and studying it as much as I can because it is truly my passion. And now that I am more seriously considering music, I can see all the amazing opportunities it can have in store for me. Thus, at the university level, I plan to learn about culture and music as well as foreign policy and government. Starting here, I can prepare for what I want to accomplish eventually.

I had two main programs in mind to begin to accomplish my ultimate goal toward greater world unity and tolerance. One starts with children, teaching them at a young age to embrace differences and create worldwide friendships. The Silk Road Project is one of the most inspirational programs I have ever heard about. It reaches out among nations, sharing music all over the world and bringing foreigners together through music. If I had the opportunity, I would love to create a branch off of the Silk Road Project, involving children. It would consist of many musicians from different countries who focus more on teaching and reaching out to kids. They could travel around like the members of Silk Road and go to schools. As teachers, each musician could specialize in a certain geological area or country. At the school, they could introduce the type of music that is native to the region as well as provide a small background about the culture of that place. They would stress the importance of cultural tolerance and inspire children to see what lies outside the confining borders of their lives. We aren’t exposed to just how big (and yet also how small) the world is early enough in our lives. With how advanced communication is now, we can make so many more connections around the world if only we were aware of it at an earlier age. Thus, these teachers can help show how connected the world is by teaching about music at a cultural viewpoint and then inspiring kids to do their own studying about other countries and maybe even start making connections with people in foreign countries.

Expanding on this program, schools could then form communications with other schools around the world. The Silk Road branch could create bonds between schools (sister schools, if you will) through these musical performances. To start, the music teachers at schools could have monthly concerts with their sister school and share the concert either by tape or online video-chat. From there, the kids could possibly start pen pal correspondences with other kids from the schools. However, instead of using actual snail mail, they could use email or some other form of online correspondence. With the use of email, it is much easier to remain in touch with people. Email allows kids to express their ideas with immediate feedback from their pen pal and with the impatience of young kids, it would be much more effective than regular mail. At the elementary level, this sort of supervision is needed. One reason would be for safety, but another is just merely that the children need guidance for what to talk about in order to keep the correspondence going. However, at the high school level, a music club could be started in response to the Silk Road performance in which students form music groups and correspond with other music groups with sister schools around the world. They could prepare music and critique each other through online performances. From there, they could form relationships basically from across the world. The best part of this sort of communication is that right off the bat the students have something to relate to. They can relate through music and then form real friendships with each other.

One other program that I would be very interested in creating would be within the foreign policy branch of government. There could be a group that is in charge of organizing music concerts for foreign politicians that are visiting America as well as finding music groups native to countries that our politicians visit. Music is a way of expressing the beauty of other cultures and by exposing our politicians to the deep culture of where they are, maybe it could soften the other differences and conflicts.

These programs are things that I would truly enjoy implementing because they incorporate my ideal goals for our society as well as something I truly love. By teaching children at a young age that the world is much smaller than it seems, they can began making connections with people all over the world. These friendships can lead to greater tolerance of differences amongst religions, cultures, and countries. Music is something that I strongly believe in for its capacity to unite people all over the world.

Alice and Diversity

We have trouble accepting what we don’t know. For me, I had trouble accepting the concept of ahimsa. I enjoy my life and its occasional conflicts and for me to fathom a life without these ordinary trials was difficult. However, my friend reminded me that if that was the norm, would I be more accepting of the idea? The more I think about it, the more I think that I would embrace this idea. We love what we know and what is familiar to us. I suppose that’s what makes diversity something that people strive for when forming communities—whether it’s a club, college, certain learning program, or area of town. Diversity means different people. But when I say different, I do not mean different backgrounds or ethnicities (although this can be one way of exemplifying diversity). I find myself thinking about the people themselves. Different ideas and mind-sets. Having a variety of thought processes and desires is what diversity means to me. So when diversity becomes the norm, it will be much easier for us to deal with.

But diversity, for us, is much easier to deal with than for Alice. Alice says, “’the face is what one goes by, generally’” (219), but she definitely cannot do this in Wonderland. However, Alice must deal with much more than differing viewpoints. She must deal with the fact that she must accept what she originally believed to be impossible: that is, animals talking to her and telling her things that are hard to understand. As if it isn’t too much to cope with that the animals are talking, much of what they say comes to her as nonsense. But what becomes the norm, becomes what we accept and even strive for. As the Unicorn says “’if you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you” (229).

I can relate to having to be sensitive to the feelings of others, especially when I haven’t been around certain types of people much. For example, at my high school, I basically hung out with the same people all the time and I’ll admit we were all pretty liberal and pretty snobby toward conservative ideas. Thus, slights and insults come out pretty naturally against those types of ideas. And now that I’m here, I hang out with so many different groups and have to be much more sensitive and considerate of other people’s ideas. I have to remember that it can be offensive to people in the group to say nasty things so easily.

This is much like Alice’s experience with the dormouse. She has never had to deal with the feelings of a dormouse, so she says things that would not normally offend people, but that have “really offended it” (27). She keeps going on about how wonderful dogs and cats are, but to a dormouse those are just potential predators. I can relate this to how I might talk about how annoying and horrible I find Sarah Palin around a person who truly admires her. While this has been difficult, it has certainly been a good experience. I enjoy learning hearing different opinions and strive to fight against what Humpty Dumpty says to Alice: that “you’re so exactly like other people” (219).

Siddhartha DB#3

One major goal that I think parallels perfectly with Siddhartha is “how to listen” (Course website). Can a person really be taught how to listen though? In class, we have these listening exercises and practices, but I’m not sure they do any good. You have to want to listen to something to truly take it in. I think that’s what Siddhartha does. As Siddhartha travels along his path to enlightenment, he realizes what he needs to be listening to. The river. To him, it embodies all of humanity. It “sang with a voice of suffering” (Hesse 125) and Siddhartha heard “the flow of events and the music of life” (Hesse 126). To me, you have to be looking out for something in particular to be able to listen. Siddhartha was looking for the meaning of life and was on a sure path to find peace and enlightenment. Because of this steady path, he knew what to listen for. So maybe that’s what we’re going here. Trying to find what to listen for.

Like Siddhartha we “endeavored to listen better” in this class and I’m sure we will continue to do so for the next three and a half years (Hesse 125). And when I say we’re looking for what to listen for, I mean (like Siddhartha), we are on our path to finding what we want in the world. We are, in a sense, looking for what to look for. And when we stop and try to listen, we do it better and better. When I’m especially interested, I also find myself listening (and understanding) better. For example, in our lecture for Perspectives last week, I was very interested in what Dr. Starbird had to say about no more wars and thus listened very carefully and attentively to his discussion. However, in Biology today, I found myself rather indifferent to our discussion and thus retained very little of the lecture. Like I said, you have to want to listen.

Through meditation, I have found that listening can unify my thoughts as well, something else we are trying to accomplish here at UT. Going along with the river and Siddhartha’s idea of unity, we are also striving for “unity, of the self, of the self and others, of the self and nature…” (Course website). Siddhartha finds a perfect unity in the river: “everything was intertwined and connected, entangled together a thousand times over” (Hesse 126). We, as students, also strive for unity. We are working to make sense of the world and how to make connections. I have especially learned that in regards to nature this year. I have never felt so in tune with the physical outside world as I do now and I really think that I have this class (and the book Siddhartha) to thank for that. There is a peace that I feel when I’m relaxing outside that has never quite been there before. At first, Siddhartha had a very fragmented picture of the world. He was dissatisfied with what he lived with and also how others lived. Through the river, he managed to find peace and enlightenment, something that we are also striving toward. While I do not necessarily believe that I will find enlightenment, I think our goal of living “in fragments no longer” (Course website) can be represented by Siddhartha’s desire to find enlightenment.

Embracing our differences, but also our sense of being together.

I think also as we move through this course, regardless of all our differences and arguments, we will find that our “voices belonged together” (Hesse 126). They probably have in the past as well. Everything just meshes well and goes along “the current of life” (Hesse 127). So unity with each other is something we are slowly but sure accomplishing through this course.

Siddhartha DB#2

What does it mean that Siddhartha’s life is a unity? If unity is that he experienced everything necessary to truly understand life, I’m not sure it was truly unified. But if it means that the course of his life all had connections and purposes, perhaps so. For example, coming back to the ferryman because of a previous connection. And how he keeps running into Govinda, when Kamala returns to him because of his son—his son runs away, so he returns to the garden. So in that respect, Siddhartha’s path is very unified and each step has its purpose.

Stepping stones.

So, if we define a unified life as a life that follows a path of interconnected actions and events, then I would say my life, and Siddhartha’s, is very unified so far. I grew up with my parents, traveled in the summers, went to school, and am now enrolled in college. I’m planning on studying abroad, going to graduate school, and getting a job eventually. And maybe the two ideas of a unified life are connected. By experiencing this path (the same path that many others follow), I am understanding the average life that many others strive for. However, the difference between Siddhartha and I is that I do not think I could achieve enlightenment just following this simple path. So, while my life is unified, I’m not sure it is in the same sense that his was. Siddhartha’s journey is different because he had something in mind as he went along: he was dissatisfied with the world and also knew he wanted to achieve this greater sense of wisdom and understanding. I find myself wanting to achieve similar things, but maybe at a smaller scale. I have more realistic goals and values, and that is okay with me. I am not entirely dissatisfied with the world—I see room for improvement, but I understand that I am a part of this world and I can work to improve it instead of setting myself apart.

In my opinion, the novel didn’t really hang together to me. His experiences seemed kind of random and I’m not sure I understand just how he achieved enlightenment through these things. His experiences with what we might call a “normal life” was certainly spot on, but his grasp at love seemed a little less than what I would have liked for him to experience. Siddhartha said earlier in the book that “people of our kind can’t love,” but then he proceeds to foolishly love his spoiled son (70).

Spoiled brat, gr.

He “lost himself to a love and became a fool because of love” (114). I, for one, truly understand how he could call this the “strongest and strangest of all passions” because I don’t understand how, if he was incapable of love before, he could all of the sudden love this little boy so much, especially when this little boy treated him so rudely and with so much contempt (114). For me, love is something that comes on gradually and is learned in a sense. I guess I really can’t understand because I don’t have children, but the love of this boy seemed silly for a person who is described earlier as not being able to love. But I guess in a way it completed his life cycle on the path to enlightenment. He experienced that love that hits you before you even know what happened. He couldn’t control it or fight it and became a slave to it. In a way, this completed his understanding of human beings and I suppose this was how he could finally truly listen to the river.

However, the conclusion of the novel was beautiful to me. When he described the river as “the flow of events and the music of life,” I could relate to that a thousand times over (126). On Sunday, I had almost the same feeling about the wind. Of course, I wasn’t anywhere close to enlightenment or anything, but it held the same kind of beauty. It brings so many things together and travels all over. It can be bitter and angry or soft and beautiful. It pushes and pulls just the right amount and the sound of the wind whipping through your ears is something unique and cannot be replicated. I sat outside yesterday finishing the book and afterwards I simply sat, closed my eyes, and let the wind tickle my face. It was in this moment that I could picture Siddhartha’s smile.

Buddha's smile.

This video (to me) totally goes with the feelings Siddhartha had about the river.

Siddhartha DB#1

For a long time now, I have recognized in myself a certain aspect of my personality: that is, I crave the presence of other people in my life. Sure, I need my alone time as do most people, but I think my alone time is considerably lower than most others. I like to be around people, constantly interacting with them, sharing my thoughts and feelings. I like to share things I enjoy, a funny joke, a happy story, a triumph. But I also need other people—I share with them my hopes, fears, sadness. I’m not sure if this is some personality flaw that I have in which I’m unable to deal with things on my own or if it is me trying to connect myself to others and this is the means by which I do it. Whatever the reason, I need people and I think through these interactions I am bringing myself closer to them. For example, as I write this DB, I find myself very thankful that I am down here in the Andrews lobby with Reuben and Lauren rather than sitting in my quiet and darkened room. Sure, I didn’t accomplish as much as I would have hoped tonight and lost sleep over it, but I find myself content. And thus, while I appreciate the isolation that Siddhartha puts himself in, I do not think I could accomplish the goals of my pilgrimage that way. I do not seek the path to enlightenment. I think we all seek our own happiness above all other things. And my happiness depends greatly on the presence of the people I love. So, I guess my question is: Is Siddhartha searching for enlightenment or his own happiness? Does his happiness depend on becoming enlightened? I guess it everyone’s choice what they seek in life, but when it comes down to it, I think most people would answer happiness. Siddhartha is a special individual who can put something else before that and while I commend him for it, I also recognize that through his means, I could not accomplish the goals of my pilgrimage. I must being playing the game the Siddhartha sees everyone playing, “a game for children,” in which I am happy to repeat over and over (79).

However, I found it very easy to relate to seeing the world in a different way. I have found myself in a situation a couple times in my life in which “the sun shone differently upon the head, the shade of the forest cooled [me] differently, the stream and the cistern were different…” (Hesse 46). Over the summer, I climbed a 14,000-foot mountain (nicknamed 14ers). Upon reaching the top, all we could see for miles in every direction were mountains upon mountains. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. And up there so high after working so hard to get there, everything seemed different, but also perfect. The wind felt different, the colors seemed different, and the heat of the sun warmed me in such a way that I’ve never felt anywhere else. And although I was with other people, I think this was one of those moments of isolation that Siddhartha learned from. I was realizing some things on my own and reflecting inwardly more than just chatting it up on top of the mountain. And I think because these thoughts were kept to myself, I learned much more. People are embarrassed to share some things with others so they repress certain thoughts and ideas that they would normally have reflected on. While I sat on top of that mountain and just thought about nature and life, I’m sure that I would’ve kept most of my thoughts to myself even if I had wanted to talk with the others. Thus, I just let everything flow freely and I am glad because I saw so many new things that way. I think I can truly relate to this feeling inside Siddhartha: “light and shadow ran through his eyes, and the stars and moon ran through his heart” (46).

Also, in relation to unity, I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Siddhartha in that nature has such a capacity to bring people together. On our excursion on Sunday, I was sitting calmly in one of the trees, writing about what I saw and felt with nature (which was a lot, let me tell you), a man and his son approached me and began talking to me. I talked with them for a while and got to know them. Afterward I think I can safely saw that I had the same smile that Siddhartha had when he was “happy about the friendship and the kindness of the ferryman” (49). Nature is unity and if we truly take the time to sit and appreciate it I think most of us could realize it’s capacity for love and bringing people together. Its very existence allows people to interact and enjoy each others’ company, which I fully appreciated and understood on Sunday.